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Environmental Hazards
Given that the default 0-level character is human, Hundredfold assumes your world is basically Earth-like; it has gravity, an atmosphere, a sun, and so forth. But even the lushes paradise contains places and objects that are less than hospitable to human life. The rules presented below represent a fairly realistic baseline for humanoid characters; creatures with different physiologies may or may not be subject to any of these factors. Extreme Conditions Certain conditions such as extreme heat or cold, radiation, or noxious fumes can render exposure to an environment dangerous or even deadly without proper protection. An extreme condition will bear a unique name indicating its nature (e.g. heat, cold) and a numerical level indicating how severely it affects you. *'1: '''You gain no benefit from a break or a full rest. *'2: As above, plus you begin taking 1 damage every n'' hours, where ''n is your Endurance score (minimum 1). For example with an Endurance score of 3.0, you'd take 1 damage every 3 hours. *'3: '''As above, but you take 1 damage every 100n rounds. *'4: 'As above, but you take 1 damage every 10n rounds. *'5: 'As above, but you take 1 damage every n rounds. *'6: 'As above, but you take 1 damage every round. *'7: '''Exposure to this environment and above is instantly fatal. '''Protective Gear: Protective equipment like parkas and hazmat suits bear the same designations as the condition they guard against, i.e. cold 3 or poison 4. The value of your gear is subtracted from the level of the environment (minimum 0) to determine how you are effected. For example with the cold 3 parka, cold 1 through 3 would not affect you, but cold 4 would be treated as cold 1. Environmental protection is always cumulative; putting a second parka over your parka would be extremely clumsy, but it would be warmer. Suffocation One of the most basic needs of most living creatures is breathable air. Under normal circumstances, an air-breathing creature can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to its passive Toughness times 5. A human with a Toughness score of 2.4 could therefore hold its breath for 37 rounds, or just over 2 minutes. Beyond that, you take damage equivalent to a level 5 extreme environment. You immediately stop taking this damage when you resume breathing normally. Living creatures that are consciously holding their breaeth will automatically resume breathing when they lose consciousness unless they are somehow unable (underwater, in space, being strangled, etc.). Some creatures may have racial abilities that greatly extend the time they can hold their breath or obviate the need for air entirely. Thin Air: When the atmosphere is not absent or poisonous but merely inadequate, such as at the peak of a tall mountain, any fatigue you sustain is doubled, but you otherwise function normally. Hunger and Thirst Virtually all living creatures require some kind of sustenance to survive, the exact nature and amount of which is subject to sensible GM interpretation. A creature can survive without food for a number of days equal to its maximum vitality points, beyond which it begins suffering grievous injuries; –1 to Physical and Mental at the beginning of each additional day without food. Dehydration is much less forgiving. A creature can survive without water for a number of days equal to its Endurance score (minimum 1), beyond which it suffers a –2 grievous injury to Physical and Mental at the beginning of each day without water. You cannot attempt to Recover from dehydration or starvation until you receive your normal amount of food or water for the day. However once you do so, you immediately stop accruing these penalties and can begin recovering from them normally. Falling On just about any solid planet, falling from a great height onto an unyielding surface is dangerous and potentially fatal. In Earth-like gravity, at the end of a fall, a creature is dealt 1 hit for every 3 units fallen, to a maximum of 100 hits at 300 units. Once the damage is rolled, the creature also receives a grievous injury penalty of –1 per 10 damage to its Physical score. Falling happens very fast. You fall up to 60 units in the first round, 190 units in the second, and 200 units each round thereafter. Falling creatures generally can't reach to interact with each other unless they fell from the same height in the same round. The Tumble task can be used to reduce falling damage, and even gains bonuses for landing on soft surfaces. You generally have to fall during your turn or have reserved actions to tumble successfully; falling for longer than one round probably isn't survivable. Light and Vision Most living creatures' sense of sight requires some degree of light to function. The amount of light in an area (and therefore the functionality of the Vision skill) is measured in light levels. Very low light levels render Vision difficult or impossible while very high light levels can actually be dangerous. *'0:' Total darkness. Vision checks automatically fail. Checks against your Vision defense automatically succeed. All moves suffer a –2 penalty. *'1:' Starlight. Vision checks and your Vision defense suffer a –4 penalty. All moves suffer a –1 penalty. *'2:' Full Moonlight. Vision suffers a –2 penalty. *'3:' Morning/Evening. Vision suffers a –1 penalty. *'4:' Broad Daylight. Vision functions normally. *'5:' Burning magnesium. Vision suffers a –2 penalty. *'6:' Chemical explosion. Vision suffers a –4 penalty. Creatures that attempt a Vision check at this level and above suffer a grievous injury to Vision equal to the light level divided by 10. For example exposure to level 7 inflicts a –0.7 injury. *'7+:' Bright explosion. Vision checks automatically fail. *'11+:' Nuclear explosion. From this level on, the light source is considered an extreme condition ten levels lower; without protection, exposure to light level 17 is instantly fatal. Point light sources such as torches and lanterns emit light of a given level in all directions, decreasing by 1 level for every 5 units to a minimum ambient light level for the area set by the GM. Vision checks are always made using the light level surrounding the target, rather than the observer. If you're standing in daylight (level 4) and attempting to locate a monster in a dark cave (level 1), then your check suffers the –4 penalty associated with light level 1. Sound and Hearing Any source of sound, from a bullhorn to polite conversation to a pin dropping, will have a Challenge number associated with it, primarily for use with the Listen task. Soft sounds that are difficult to detect have high Challenge numbers. Loud noises that can be easily heard even from far away have very low Challenge numbers. The Challenge number of any sound increases with distance, at a rate of 1 for every 10 units. Deafening Noise: When exposed to a sound with a negative Challenge number, you suffer a grievous injury to Hearing equal to that number plus your passive Toughness. If the result of this calculation is not a negative number, you suffer no effect. For example if you had a Toughness of 3.5 and you were exposed to a Challenge –9 noise, –9 + 8.5 = a –0.5 injury, while a Challenge –8 noise would cause you no ill effect. Any time you have two free hands, you may choose to cover your ears; doubling your effective Toughness score for the purpose of resisting deafening noise, but halving your Listen score. Category:Core Rules